Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Fit-again Boyata thanks Rodgers
DEDRYCK Boyata revealed his impressive return to the Celtic team was all the sweeter after putting i n gym sessions until the early hours of the morning in a bid to get into Brendan Rodgers’ plans.
The defender scored his second winner in consecutive weeks to earn Celtic a 1-0 victory over Aberdeen on Wednesday in only his fifth appearance of the season.
The Belgium international endured a tough time in 2016 after a hamstring injury in the William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final defeat by Rangers ended his campaign in April. A muscle tear then forced him out of the European Championship finals.
Boyata has since struggled to force his way into the Celtic team, with his sole appearance under Rodgers in 2016 coming in a 1-0 victory at Kilmarnock.
Rodgers made a point of presenting the 26-year-old to the fans to take their acclaim as victory over the Dons sent them 25 points clear at t he t op of t he Ladbrokes Premiership.
And Boyata’s story of his last few months explains why the Celtic boss has called him the “ultimate professional” i n recent days.
“Maybe the reason he did this was because of how hard I was working when I wasn’t in the side,” said Boyata ahead of Sunday’s trip to St Johnstone.
“When I was in the squad for games I was going back to the training ground and running in the evening until midnight, so I have been working very hard.
“After games and when I had a day off, I used to go back to the training ground and run on the treadmills to midnight and 1am sometimes.
“Now it is paying off and I can only be glad he did this, taking me to the fans was very nice.”